Herein lies the secrets, that great men have been killed for... Beware

Friday, 10 June 2011

IVORIAN MANOU GALLO AT NAIROBI’S FETE

The second installment in a series of four Blankets & Wine musical concerts sponsored by KCB Advantage takes place on June 5th 2011, at the Leisure Gardens, Mamba Village-Karen.Headlining the show was incredible Manou Gallo from Ivory Coast. Also on stage at this 26th edition of Blankets & Wine, shall be the dynamic Ma3 band, the captivating Muthoni the Drummer Queen, the enthralling Sauti Sol.

Blankets & Wine is East Africa's premier music experience designed to showcase outstanding musicians in the emerging genres of afro-based music. Every first Sunday of the month the event features three or four outstanding afro-based bands that range from afro-soul, afro-fusion, and afro-jazz, ethnic, experimental and other emerging genres.

The sponsorship by KCB Advantage is aimed at nurturing and promoting local talent while creating a direct connection between Advantage banking and its target market.The High net-worth banking proposition offers exclusive value added services such as the recent signing of a partnership with the G-Places Privilege cards that allows holders up to 40 percent discounts at selected outlets in East Africa.

Brought up by her grandmother in a small city, Divo in Ivory Coast, Manou started performing at the age of 12. Over the years, she forged a solid rhythmical experience by beating the talking drums of her place of birth, which aroused the admiration and astonishment of her neighbours.

From then on, her performance experience has been varied and diverse; she has performed with theatre and dance troupes that toured various African countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo and Benin, and together they recorded four albums.

She eventually met the tour manager of Zap Mama, and was offered the chance to tour with them in Europe. She performed with them for six years from 1997, as well as appearing with the Tambours de Brazza.

She eventually formed her own group, Le Djiboi, and toured extensively. Her debut album, "Dida" was released on the IglooMondo label in 2003, followed by "Manou Gallo" in 2007. She sings in Dida, French and English and has developed her own style of music, something between Afrobeat, funk, and world music, with a strong measure of modern influence, tradition, and the spice of personal inspiration. Manou is a modern African woman of the diaspora. Her music reflects this, as it does her own background, braided together by differing cultural and historic roots.